PA child care shortage Archives

The Pennsylvania Governor’s Advisory Commission on Women hosted a virtual discussion earlier this week between business and government leaders and child care advocates about the state’s child care crisis.

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The discussion – which took place on Monday – focused on the ongoing child care crisis, which has forced many parents to leave the workforce due to the lack of access to affordable child care.

“Ensuring affordable, high-quality child care depends on bold, ongoing investment in the educators who power our commonwealth,” said Cara Ciminillo, Trying Together’s executive director. “Early educators are the workforce behind every thriving community. By continuing to invest in them, Pennsylvania can strengthen its economy, support families, and build a child care system that positions our state for long-term prosperity.”

The topics focused on during the discussion – which included Trying Together and various other organizations – will inform the commission’s future recommendations to the Shapiro Administration.

Gov. Josh Shapiro recently signed the state budget, which secured the following investments in child care:

$25 million for a new Child Care Staff Retention and Recruitment Program, providing about $450 per employee annually to licensed Child Care Works providers
A $7.5 million increase in Pre-K Counts rates, enabling providers to raise wages and stabilize the early educator workforce
Continued support for the Employer Child Care Contribution Tax Credit, which encourages businesses to help employees cover child care costs, and the Child and Dependent Care Enhancement Tax Credit for working families
A $10 million increase for Early Intervention to provide coaching support and services to families and children with developmental delays and disabilities

“Child care and the early learning professionals who make this work possible play an important role in supporting child development and fueling our economy,” said Shante Brown, deputy secretary of the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL). “Our child care workforce makes it possible for parents to go to work knowing their children are learning and growing in an enriching, caring environment.”

A report from Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children notes that the state faces an historic early learning workforce shortage.

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A coordinated early care and education system ensures that infants, toddlers, and preschoolers succeed in school and allows parents to work while knowing their children are safe and learning in high-quality care.

But Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children’s 2024 State of Early Care and Education report found that this coordinated system that is vital to the economy could be threatened by the early learning workforce shortage.

The report uses data and research to show that without new investments in the child care workforce, Pre-K Counts, or the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program, early learning providers will continue to lose teachers and close classrooms. Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children worked with Early Learning Pennsylvania (ELPA), a statewide coalition of advocates that includes Pre-K for PA and Start Strong PA, on the report.

Inadequate Funding

The report shows that inadequate funding for the early care and education system has led to supply-side issues affecting families’ abilities to find affordable, high-quality care. It has also impacted providers’ abilities to be compensated fairly to pay teachers and maintain business expenses.

Without direct investment in the child care sector’s workforce, the crisis will continue, likely resulting in more classroom closures and more working parents struggling to find care for their children, the report noted.

The report recommends implementing and funding a recruitment and retention model to increase the child care workforce and ensure that providers have the staff needed to operate at full capacity.

It also suggests increasing state investments in the Pre-K Counts and Head Start Supplemental Assistance programs as well as developing and funding a pay parity policy for pre-K teachers that reflects wages provided to teachers in the K-12 system.

Other Findings

Other findings in the report include:

Only 46% of eligible 3- and 4-year-olds participate in high-quality, publicly funded pre-K, leaving more than 78,000 without access to a high-quality program.
Unlivable wages of less than $15.15 per hour are causing an historic workforce shortage, closing classrooms and driving up waitlists for working parents.
Child care providers can’t raise teacher wages because families are already struggling to afford care costs. On average, costs for infant child care comprise about 17% of the Pennsylvania median family income.
Only 25% of eligible children under age three are served by Child Care Works, leaving more than 73,000 eligible infants and toddlers unserved.

The full report is available on Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children’s website.